​This panel presents and discusses experimental work with the 'lived body' and the sensible being conducted with professionals engaged in health care services (perinatality and medicine) and in educational settings (teacher education). It includes 3 presentations (F. Vinit, by C. Boissoneault, G. Emond and J. Lachance), some explorations with participants to embody what is presented, and a discussion period.

1/ Somatic Education in Coaching Psychology and PerinatalityVinit, F. by Boissoneault, C. (Université of Quebec at Montreal)In an accompanying process, as it can be experienced in psychotherapy or the perinatal realities, the lived body is central, both for the client who approximates from himself in welcoming and naming what he lives and feels, as for the person who is doing the coaching process whose modulations of presence may serve as a guide to adjust the relationship and help the congruence of the patient. However, we often speak of the body in current research in sociology and psychology, without the somatic dimension, ie the experience of a living body. We will look into this reality of lived body to highlight some methodological issues, how somatic education can be used in the field of coaching psychology and perinatality: how introspection can build on the lived body, self-presence as an anchor, setting word as return on his own experience.

2./ Awakening the Sensible Being (Mind-Body Training Program as Experienced by Healthcare Professionals): an open door to exploring the Self and professional relationships in a more humane way.Lachance, J., Paillé, P., Desbiens, J.F., and Xhignesse, M. J. (University of Sherbrooke)Background / Purpose: Awakening the “Sensible” Being (ASB) is a formative practice geared toward care giving and support. It examines how experiencing one’s own body and its movement stimulates the development of self-awareness and awareness of others, both of which are desirable qualities for healthcare professionals. To our knowledge, there have been no studies that have examined the effects of ASB on physicians. Our objective was to explore if and how ASB training attended by physicians modifies the quality of their self-awareness, their presence to others, as well as their relationship to health and their medical practice.Methods: Qualitative research based on two types of semi-structured interviews (comprehensive and elicitation) conducted with six physicians from France having completed their ASB training (500 hours over 4 years). The content of the interviews was first analyzed thematically then grouped into categories.Results / Observations: Participants developed a presence grounded in their relation to their body on which they could rely when facing uncomfortable situations. They report that this quality relation to their body allows them to live their subjective experience in greater depth which in turn helps them to grow in their global awareness. A refocusing process enables both a proximity to and a certain distance from themselves and events. Being more aware of themselves, they can engage into action more objectively, leaving more space for their human part and that of others.Conclusion: Rather than abnegating the body, which is often privileged in medicine, it appears that a quality relation with one’s body allows people to delve deep into their body subjectivity in order to look more objectively at the Self and have a better nature of connexion to it, thus bringing health to the practitioner and his/her professional relationships.

3./ Learning to Teach from and with our Bodies: Pedagogical Insights for Teacher EducationEmond, G. (Université of Quebec at Montreal)While teaching, many teachers perceive and mobilize their bodies in limited and rather unconscious ways. They have probably learnt very little about their own bodies. Teacher education curricula do not often include the teacher’s 'lived body' understood as a set of inter-related physical, emotional and cognitive sensations. For Johnson (2007), learning and teaching arise from a human being’s bodily experience in relation with others and his or her environment. Becoming more conscious of their own bodies can help teachers improve their teaching skills while learning with and from others.

Since 2014, I have offered various teacher education-workshops on 'lived body' and dynamic embodiment (Sheets-Johnstone, 2015) in relation to teaching, based on somatic approaches (Joly, 2006). I will share some of the insights that have come out of these workshops. My discussion will also draw on Van Manen’s notion of phenomenological practice (2014) and my doctoral thesis, which brings together teacher embodiment and internal-external coherence (Korthagen, 2004).

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